Staff Blog

Yesterday was a glorious day!  It was overcast, breezy and there were intermittent bursts of rain.  It was welcome relief from the unrelenting heat of this summer, but also, I just love a good storm!  Because of the rain though, outside activities were at a minimum.  Normally at 3:35pm, any available space in the yard, on the driveway or on the playground equipment is being utilized.  I decided to document this rather rare occurrence...

It was definitely a riding kind of day...

Even for our Aunties!  :)

And a coloring kind of day....

And a looking at books kind of day...

And a taking silly pictures kind of day...

Pretty much my favorite part of ANY day!  :)

A new craze has hit the shelter.  And it is one I cannot understand in the least.  The current trend on the playground involves beetles.

Step 1: Catch the beetle that you fancy most.

Step 2: Attach string to the leg of your choosing.

Step 3: Run!

There is NOTHING about that that is in any way appealing to me.

Okay, okay, if I could get past touching the beetle for the length of time it would take to tie a string around its leg, it MIGHT be kind of cool to have a pet on a leash that would fly alongside me.  Operative word being might.

And yet, it is an activity that currently captivates the attention of many of our children!

Check out the pure joy on the face of one of our newest kids!

The beetles (yes, more than one) are on his finger here...

In flight...

Mind-boggling happiness...

Happy Summer all!  May yours be filled with joy...and bugs, if that is what it takes!

Our kids are incredibly gifted in many forms of expression.  They dance with a fluidity that astounds, and tumble and flip in a way that looks effortless.  They pick up song lyrics crazy fast and belt out those lyrics without abandon.  They smile readily and are prone to giggles.

We have some talented artists among us as well.  Recently the kids were having fun decorating our driveway.  Many were content with just autographing the cement, others were more focused in their artistry.  

 My favorite decoration, however, was the one you see below.  "Marty love Jesus."  That was written, not entirely grammatically correct, but quite neatly, by a 5-year-old.  You can see his proud little feet at the top!  :)  I was taken aback when I spotted this message among the flowers, butterflies and names that surrounded it.

The message was so simple, so sweet...so perfect.

 As adults we worry about raising the children around us in the right way, being a good witness and teaching them about Jesus.  This message was fulfilling for me---this little boy gets it, if he does not get anything else in the world, he knows the most important thing.

 And to tell you the truth, I was humbled in that moment as well.  I was brought back to the heart of why we do what we do here at CSC.  We do this work because we love Jesus.

 Lindsay love Jesus too!  :)

hug - [pronounciation: hugh]

verb; used with object

1. To clasp tightly in the arms, especially with affection; embrace.

2. To cling firmly or fondly to; cherish.

Synonyms:

verb : embrace - clasp - cuddle - enfold - inarm

noun : embrace - cuddle - clasp - squeeze - grip

And there ends the English lesson on parts of speech and definitions.  It was really just a refresher course...  :)

I'm writing about hugs because they are an everyday occurence for me and have been since I arrived August 2011.  They were an unanticipated perk of the job and are a daily blessing!  How love and care is communicated through their hugs is so touching to me for many reasons.  Firstly, I am away from the friends and family who would normally hug me.  It is honestly hard to feel lonely when you have 5 children waiting in line for a hug from you!  :)  Secondly, they mean it.  We have some of the sweetest kids here.  Despite the things they have seen or the things that have been done to them, they have learned to trust and love others.  That is the third reason.  And they want it too--the fourth reason.  When I am able to comfort a hurting or sad child by my presence or with a hug, I am so humbled.  I am so grateful that God has allowed me to serve in this way, to love on these kids, and for some it is the first time they have been treated this way.  Check out the pictures below of some of our most stellar huggers!  :)

 This lil' dear hugs me whenever she sees me and rubs my back---can you say heart-melter?

 One of our newest tikes---he is a cuddler!  And I am just fine with that...

 This sweet girl, everyday, yells out a greeting to me from wherever she may be and then runs with arms open wide!!!

If I am sitting anywhere, this one is likely to be in my lap!  :)

 Legs count, don't they?!  :)

 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love." 

1 Corinthians 13:13

Yesterday at Children of Hope School, we proudly celebrated the graduation of three teenagers, who will go on to high school next year, and five pre-schoolers who will advance to pre-K.  It was a special day for sure.  The three oldest graduates have faced a lot challenges and have accomplished much in their years at our school.  One of the graduates gave a speech.  I thought he might discuss all of the academic challenges he had faced.  While he mentioned those briefly, the larger message he shared was that of gratitude.  He was thankful for his teachers and all of the time they had invested in him.  He was thankful to the staff for their encouragement.  He was thankful to his house parents for their guidance and leadership.  He was appreciative of the support from the Aunties and Uncles in his life.  And he was even thankful for challenges as he was so proud of what he had learned from them.

Waiting in anticipation...

The proud graduates!

I was impressed with his words and touched by his message.  CSC is often described as a place of refuge for the kids that come here.  Many have left violent homes, chaotic living situations or have had no home to speak of.  We are proud to be able to offer our kids the basic things: food, shelter, clothing, a safe place to rest their head.  But we are blessed to be able to give our kids even more.  We have a beautiful school and a talented body of teachers who are willing to meet the individual needs of our kids.  Our teachers go the extra mile every day and our kids benefit greatly from their tireless effort.

Our talented teachers!

Praise the Lord for how he has blessed CSC!  Thanks be to God for how He brought each of these teachers to our school---for we are surely better for it!  :)